Around the edge of Wales (6).....Clun to Hay on Wye

Around the edge of Wales (6). . . . Clun to Hay on Wye

Cycling the section of road between  Clun and New Invention is totally exhilarating.  A long slalom run through rolling countryside.

I wondered about  the  ‘New Invention‘  that gave this tiny settlement its name. There didn’t seem to be any obvious remains nor any interpretation – but I may have been wheeling too fast to notice. In Knighton someone else was busily working on other kinds of intriguing four wheel inventions…..

I was really for the gift of biscotti biscuits from a Knighton café where I stopped for a brew and to work out how I was faring on my £10 a day budget. The town was quiet – a single crowd of Offa hikers passed by the window and a few people ambled past to fetch their Sunday papers.

The climb out of Knighton was another steep one – southwards to Rhydymeirch and then on to Whitton and the picturesque village of Evensjobb.  One of the loveliest parts  of the journey yet was the short stretch from Evensobb towards Burfa, and past the Burfa Bog nature reserve owned by the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust. At the junction where the Burfa lane meets the Knill-Walton road, the strong breeze carried the sweet smell of lime tree leaves from Lower Hampton Farm, about a quarter of a mile away.

From Kington, I followed the narrow lanes through Huntington, below the Hergest Ridge, until I reached Rhydspence. The huge waves of white polythene tunnels broke the skyline at Huntington  - part of the Haygrove Organic farm holdings where they appeared to be growing fruit trees under plastic. From the lane along the high ridge above Rhydspence the Black Mountains jutted into the heavy sky that threatened rain, very soon.

I was glad to stop in the new Radnor campsite, on the Clyro side of the Wye. A neat and convenient roadside campsite, and a kind and welcoming owner. I wandered into Hay and found it looking more down to heel than it has done in the past – with fewer galleries, fewer interesting little shops and also fewer bookshops. I walked back to the tent in the dark, as it started to pour. The last jam sandwich, at 10pm, was bliss.